Global Courant 2023-04-19 18:37:03
The US Navy on Wednesday piloted its first drone boat through the strategic Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway for global energy supplies where US sailors often face tense encounters with Iranian forces.
The journey by the L3 Harris Arabian Fox MAST-13, a 41-foot speedboat equipped with sensors and cameras, caught the attention of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards but passed without incident, said Navy spokesman Cmdr. Timothy Hawkins. Two US Coast Guard cutters, the USCGC Charles Moulthrope and USCGC John Scheuerman, accompanied the drone.
During the journey, the drone passed safely with the accompanying ships through the strait, a busy waterway between Iran and Oman that is only 34 kilometers wide at its narrowest. A fifth of all traded oil passes through the strait, which connects the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman.
“The Iranians saw the unmanned surface craft moving through the strait in accordance with international law,” Hawkins told The Associated Press. He said an Iranian drone and at least one Houdong-class fast attack craft operated by Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard Corps observed the MAST-13 drone.
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The U.S. Navy’s Bahrain-based 5th Fleet patrols Middle Eastern waters, particularly the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, to keep the waterways open to international trade and to protect U.S. interests and allies. However, Iran sees the presence of the navy as an insult and likens it to its troops patrolling the Gulf of Mexico.
Iranian state media has not acknowledged the drone trip. The Iranian mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard drone boat sails through the Strait of Hormuz on April 19, 2023. (Information Systems Technician 1st Class Vincent Aguirre/US Coast Guard via AP)
The 5th Fleet launched a special drone task force last year, aiming to deploy a fleet of some 100 unmanned drones, both sailing and submarines, in the region with US allies.
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Iran briefly seized several U.S. drones being tested in the region in late August and early September, though there has been no similar incident since.
The MAST-13 is now operating in the Gulf of Oman, where a maritime shadow war has erupted as oil tankers have been seized by Iranian forces and suspicious explosions have hit ships in the region, including those linked to Israeli and Western companies. Iran has denied involvement in the explosions, despite evidence from the West to the contrary.
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The MAST-13’s video feeds can send images back to shore and to ships at sea, allowing sailors to see ships before they approach them, Hawkins said. That could come in handy, especially as the navy and Western allies increasingly confiscate weapons they believe came from Iran en route to Yemen.
“It puts more eyes on the water, which helps us monitor what’s happening,” Hawkins said.
